American Idol Live 2011 Tour Excites Nashville Audience

American Idol season 10 winner Scotty McCreery, runner-up Lauren Alaina and the rest of the Top 11 finalists from this year’s show performed for a packed house at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Saturday evening (July 30). Admiring fans came equipped with photos, signs, T-shirts, posters, glow sticks and buttons to show support for their favorite contestants. The evening’s performance was outfitted with an elaborate and decorative stage, video messages from the show’s television host Ryan Seacrest and messages from judges Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson. The nearly three-hour show featured each contestant performing at least one individual song with several medleys interspersed throughout the night. Alaina delighted the crowd with her poignant debut single, “Like My Mother Does,” as well as a cover of Carrie Underwood‘s “Flat on the Floor” and The Band Perry‘s “If I Die Young.”Idol winner McCreery didn’t appear until the end of the show and performed his climbing single, “I Love You This Big,” as well as songs he performed on the show including Josh Turner‘s “Your Man,” Thompson Square‘s “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not”
and Montgomery Gentry‘s “Gone.” McCreery and Alaina also performed the Keith Whitley tune, “When You Say Nothing at All.” Both McCreery and Alaina have been signed to Mercury Nashville/19 Recordings/Interscope with albums due this fall. See backstage photos of McCreery and Alaina.